Merlintale
by Avalon and Shayden
Summary: This is going to be a short story series centered around the reintegration of monsterkind and the return of magic from seven different points of view, each with their own opinions and wishes for monsterkind. Will you pick a side and protect what's right or work from the shadows and pull the strings of fate?


Merlintale: Kindness

"Well, what do we have here?" Two men loomed over me in the alleyway. Their faces covered by the shadows of night.

"I dunno, hard to see with all that clothing on." The sharp gleam of a knife shone off the stray rays of moonlight creeping in from above.

"No! Get away from me!" I tried to find some exit, some way to flee from this nightmare but I was cornered like a rat in a trap. There was nowhere to go and nobody there to save me.

"Come here, kitty." The hand reaching for me darkened into a claw as it got closer and closer, filling up my entire vision. I could feel something welling inside of me, something powerful. Was it fear or dread?

"No! Get away!" I stumbled forward trying to run past them, towards the lit street beyond but to no avail. One of the men grabbed me by the shoulder and spun me around to face his partner. His arm now wrapped securely around my head, threatening to suffocate the life out of me, while the knife his partner had was just touching my dress. I wanted to swat that thing away but it was taking all of my strength from my hands just to stay conscious from the force of the arm.

"Now then... let's begin." The tip of the knife punctured my dress and started to scratch my skin as it slowly went down.

"Please... don't..." My strength was beginning to fade. Black spots darted around my vision as my air supply was slowly being cut off. I felt something new take the place of my fear. It was calling to me, yelling at me, to live and fight back! In a last ditch effort, I let loose a bellow of rage and let loose that power trapped inside me just as I was drifting on the edge of consciousness. With my vision fading, the last thing I saw was the glow of something green, then came the screams...

"No!" I woke with a start. My heart was beating hard against my ribcage and my sheets were drenched in sweat. My eyes darted around in a panic. I was in a cluttered room, but a familiar one. It was my house. I was safe. "It was... just a dream." God, not again. "Get it together, Espe. They can't hurt you anymore."

Light was filtering through my window blinds. It was a dull grey morning, the kind where you just want to sleep through it to avoid it. Kinda've making me jealous. Wait, was it still morning? I looked at my alarm clock. "4:30? Still too early." I rubbed my eyes gently. I could still feel the aftermath of burning tears lingering despite my best efforts. It was like some kind of ghost trying to torment me for my sins.

Those men, those monsters, are dead because of me, but why can't I shake off this feeling of guilt? Didn't they deserve to die so that I could live? I wanted ask myself these questions, but I knew it wouldn't do me any good. There was no answer I wanted to hear out of it, that I'm some kind of savoir or something. At the end of it, it was just me in the alleyway with their blood on my hands. Nothing more. I began to let out a sob as a single tear fell down my face.

The doorbell rang, shocking me out of my stupor. Who would be visiting me at this time? I tried to think but my head was still foggy. "Wait... sunlight? During the Fall?" I checked the alarm clock more closely. There was no light illuminated on the AM sign. "Oh, shoot! Ms. Dreemuur!" I bolted across the room as fast as I could, trying to dodge the mess strewn across it without tripping to my death. I really need to clean this place.

"Hello, Miss Esmeralda! How are... you? Oh, did I come at a bad time?" I looked at the white-furred, humanoid goat woman in confusion until I followed her gaze down and my face quickly grew hot. I was wearing nothing but my undergarments.

"N-no! Just give me a minute!" I slammed the door and grabbed the closest robe I could find. It smelled but it had to do. I it on and opened the door to let my guest in. She sheepishly came in like she was trying to avoid getting into some kind of trouble.

"Are you sure I can't come back another time, dearie?" She did her best to sidestep the mess that dominated my home. I REALLY gotta get this place cleaned.

"It's fine, Ms. Dreemurr. I just... had an issue and I accidently forgot you were coming over today." I tried to find something that could pass off as a doable drink. It was a bit late for coffee and my fridge was going empty. I need to get groceries soon. "Would tea be alright? I don't have a lot of variety so it'll have to be some lemon."

"That sounds perfect, dearie! But please, just call me Toriel." As I started to fill up the kettle, I began to reflect on when I first met the most amazing person in my life.

On the night of the... incident, Toriel was the first person to find me that alleyway covered in blood and in a state of shock. Without hesitation, she bolted over and comforted me, telling me that things were going to be alright and that I was safe, till the police arrived. She completely disregarded the fact that I could still be dangerous to her and everyone around me. In fact, she never left my side during that entire time. It was like I was like her child and she was my mother. She was so warm and comforting that I did feel safe, that I never wanted to leave the protection of her embrace.

The police had no trouble finding the bodies. The alley was just covered in red as they have been so dismembered and crushed that they literally had to get shovels just to clean off the mess before somebody else got the same scare of Jack the Ripper 2.0. It also didn't take a detective to figure out who did it but they couldn't figure out how and, quite frankly, neither did I. After my vision faded, my memory was nothing but a blank. All I was sure of was that I was the one who did it.

"Dearie...? Dearie?"

"Huh? Oh shoot!" I shook myself back into reality. The kettle was screaming its head off and Toriel was about to take care of it for me before she shook me out of my daydream. Stupid! Why did I doze off like that? Oh, that reminds me! "Hey, Toriel? I'm still trying to work up the funds to repay that outfit I ruined. I PROMISE I will buy you a new one once I get back to my job."

"Oh, don't trouble yourself, dearie. It was an accident. Although speaking of which, have you been able to go back to work yet?" Not this again.

"I... uh, haven't been able to go back just yet. I'm almost ready though! I just haven't been able to move past... that event." I really didn't want to be talking about this. My anxiety is a nuisance under normal circumstances, but now doing almost anything outside of my home by myself has almost an impossible task. I start to break down at the sight of other people and I rush back home as quickly as possible before I have a panic attack. To tell the truth, I haven't gone back to work since that day two weeks ago. Sure, I've received a call from my boss telling me to take all the time I need to recover but I haven't heard back from her since. By this point, I'm pretty sure I don't even work there anymore.

This just sucks, I mused as I sat down in the area cleaned off by Toriel after pouring both her and myself a cup of tea, feeling worse than I did before. I needed to change the subject, "So Toriel, how have things been with the new monster community?"

"Oh marvelous! With the increased help from the city and Paragon Industries, we should be ready to move in before the first snow. I was just on my way to the bank to cash in on another check we've received from a charity group but I didn't want to go there without paying a visit to see how you were doing." She stopped for a moment. I knew what question she was about to ask and I still wasn't looking forward to it. She took a deep breath before starting, "I know it's rude of me to pry and I hate asking so much from you but... do you still want to talk about it? That night?" I shook my head like the last few times I've heard this conversation. I know she means well and she's doing all she can to help but... I can't. This is something I need to learn to move on from on my own so I don't burden anyone else. But as thanks for asking, I got up and gave her a hug.

"You've done so much for me already. I can't ask for anymore." Her fur felt so soft that when she returned the gesture it was like she was wrapping me in a warm blanket. I didn't want to leave this moment to be honest.

"You know, sweetie", she started as she gently pushed me off to look at my face. "I have a room available with me at my house since my child, Frisk, has gotten so busy with their work. If you want, you could live with me while you heal. Would that be alright with you?"

I felt only love for her. She could ask me to almost anything and I'd do it in a heartbeat, but what she was asking was a bit much of me. For me to leave everything behind and live with her with the other monsters didn't feel right. I'd honestly feel like I'd be too much of a burden for her. "I... don't know. Let me think on it for a bit, okay?"

"Oh, Ok. Well would you like to go to the bank with me instead? They close soon and I still need to go cash in my check." Toriel looked saddened by my last response. Shoot, I should have been more considerate of her! Now I've hurt her for no good reason. Still, what she was asking... I don't know about it. I still don't think it would be right for me to to take the place of Frisk when I should be my own person instead. Still, I'll at least try to make it up to her by going to the bank. I could use the fresh air.

"S-sure. That sounds just fine by me. Just let me get ready first, or at least fit enough to go outside." Gotta add laundry to that growing list too.

Toriel smiled warmly, "That sounds wonderful, Dear. I'll be waiting outside the door. Don't take too long!" I hope I didn't set myself for another panic attack by agreeing to go with her.

I skipped over the mess in my living room and closed my room door behind me. A few seconds later, I heard Toriel clean up the teacups in the kitchen and leave through the front door. Since I don't have any real time to shower, I might as well just comb my hair and put on something that doesn't look like it's been living on the floor for the past few days. It took me a few seconds but I found a dull grey sweatshirt and sweatpants that didn't smell too much so they should be fine.

I took one look in the mirror before going out. My almost black hair was a bit of a mess, but in some sense it was still nice enough to go out and honestly, it took FOREVER just to grow past my shoulders. I guess some parts of me got lucky. There's just one part of me that I couldn't explain: were my eyes always this green? I mean, I've always had green eyes but now they always seem like they're glowing. Not enough to say some radiation got to me, but it was still noticeable. Coincidentally, this started just after the incident too. Huh, maybe I did turn into some type of mutant and gained powers or something. Oh well, questions for another day. I decided to take my reading glasses with to cover up this little oddity. My vision isn't that bad but sometimes I have a hard time reading things up close. Plus, I think they look nice on me.

Without a moment to lose, I took my keys and wallet and went out the door to meet with Toriel who was just checking her watch. "Alright, dearie. Ready to go?" She asked with a smile.

"Yep! Lead the way!"

We walked out of the apartment towards the bus station just down the street. Thankfully the stop was empty and the bus didn't take long to get here but our luck ran out when we got on and found that it was packed with afternoon rush, didn't help that the driver didn't look all that friendly either. I could feel my anxiety growing from all the stares I was getting.

"Tickets please." He asked with indifference. I was just pulling out my wallet when Toriel stopped me. Her touch was soothing to my nerves.

"Allow me, dearie." As Toriel pulled out a strange slip of paper and handed it to the driver. He took one look at it and then handed it back to her.

"Take your seats." The driver closed the door and immediately pulled the bus back into traffic.

"What was that?" I asked Toriel when we sat down in a less cramped area of the bus.

"A bus ticket given out by the city for us monsters. Most of us don't have driver's licenses yet or have money so the city gave us these to let us travel around freely. My ticket is unique that it lets me pay for those who come with in case I need them for my work and such." She said with a smile.

"Wow! That's so cool!" I frequently forget that Toriel was the queen of the monsters and not just some good samaritan. She doesn't talk much about her responsibilities much but I can only wonder how stressful they may be, especially since she's also juggling me on top of it all.

Before we could talk further, her phone rang. "Oh, sorry. Can you give me a minute? I need to take this."

"Sure, no problem!" With her now talking on the phone, I let my thoughts wander as I stared out the window. Specifically on how the monsters came to the surface and how everything began to change since then.

At the beginning of summer, at about 5 in the afternoon, the city was shaken out of its daily routine by a huge explosion coming from the slopes of Mt. Ebott. The public was thrown into a panic as they thought that the mountain, a long dead volcano, was starting to awaken after eons of slumber, but everything became still again after that single explosion. After a few hours, our answer as to what happened came when the unthinkable happened: monsters, once long thought to be extinct, began to appear out of the woods in droves like something out of a fairy tale. The rumored mythical barrier of Mt. Ebott had been broken.

From what we could get from them, their leader, King Asgore, and a human named Frisk banded together with the aid of six human souls and broke the barrier using their combined souls. However during this, Asgore was forced give his life so he could free his people and make amends for the six humans he had killed during his time underground. The public was still enraged when they found out that six of their own were killed by monsters but that fire soon died out through the power of the legal system and Frisk's almost prophetic abilities in delegation. Sure, a lot of people were still mad about the whole affair and there has been some groups of fanatics that have sworn to eradicate the monsters, mostly religious, but for now they are only the minority as the unanimous symbol of monster hatred is the fallen king of monsters and not the monsters themselves, courtesy of Frisk. It's funny how a martyr for his people has synonymously become the price of justice for monsters' crimes against humanity. So much for a little kindness.

I shook myself out of the daydream when Toriel just finished her call. I guess now would be a good time to ask a burning question I've had about Frisk. "Hey, Toriel?"

"Hmm? Yes, dearie?"

"How are things between you and Frisk? You don't seem to talk about them much." I wonder what gender and age Frisk is too? They don't seem to be older than 15 at best. I should ask after this.

"Oh... Fine, I guess? They haven't visited in such a long while that I can't help getting worried about them. It almost feels as if they're avoiding me and I don't know what I did to offend them. I just want them to come home and be with me, even for a little while." She lowered her head and I could see her eyes beginning to tear up. Shoot! Stupid! Why did I ask that?!

"I'm so sor-."

"Hey, gorgeous!" A man spoke up from behind me, causing me to jump in my seat. I turned to face him and immediately I could smell alcohol on his breath. "Why don't you ditch this bus and come with me to my place for a good time?"

"N-no. I-I don't t-thi-."

"Go away." I glanced over to Toriel. Her eyes were ablaze with anger and the air around her was starting to shimmer like it was on fire.

The man glanced over to Toriel, annoyed. "Now don't be like-"

"Now." The man recoiled at the anger put in those words and decided that we weren't worth it anymore. If I were in his shoes, I would have done the same. This was the first time I've seen her like this and it was really scary. Still, I'm at least I'm grateful that she got me out of that without me falling into another panic attack.

"Are you alright?" She turned to me. The anger completely gone from both her face and voice as if what just happened never occurred at all.

"Y-yeah. I-I think I'm fine. Thank you." Out of the corner of my eye I saw the bank coming up on the street ahead. I pulled the cord to signal the bus driver to stop.

"Why thank you dear." Her warm smile was back, but I couldn't shake the feeling that her sadness was beginning to show through that smile.

We went inside the bank and luckily found it just thinning out for the day. In fact, there was a teller waiting for us already. Toriel began her transactions with her quickly, leaving me to just look around and honestly there wasn't much to look at. Most of the people here were either people that just got off work or parents that picked up their children from after school activities. But there was this one man that didn't seem interested in working with the tellers, he was just looking around at everything and everyone. His gaze lingered on me and I felt a cold chill go down my spine. I turned away and stuck closer to Toriel, my body shivering uncontrollably. His eyes... they reminded me of those in that alley.

"Toriel? Can we leave?"

"Is something wrong dear?" She turned to me, looking concerned.

"I just don't want to be here anymore." I didn't tell her the actual reason why cause I didn't want her to get angry and cause a bigger problem.

"...Okay. Just let me grab my things and then we'll go for some nice cream. Sound good, dearie?" I nodded, but I had no idea what nice cream was. Was she talking about ice cream?

The teller gave us our money and we turned to leave but three more men had appeared alongside the first, blocking the exit. I noticed that all were wearing black or dark colored gear and were spreading out across the room. Then they pulled down ski masks and pulled out their guns.

"Everyone on the ground now!" One of the men shouted as he shot the ceiling sending everyone into a panic as all of them dropped down. Toriel grabbed me and dragged me to the side, out of the way of the men and the teller. I could feel my anxiety seizing me up against her taught arms, making it harder to breathe. My nightmare has come back to life again. "Put the money in the damn bag! Do it faster or I'll shoot!" Shouted the robber.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm trying!" The teller was on the verge of tears and she seemed to be slipping up while she was filling up their bags. I was hoping that she was doing it for the purpose of buying time, but... I knew fear well enough to know the difference. Thankfully I could hear police sirens approaching in the distance, it'll be a few minutes before they arrive.

"Screw this!" The robber shot the teller square in the head, spraying blood into the air and across his mask. A sudden shriek of surprise erupted from everyone. I did my best to stifle my own surprise, but I could feel my fear taking over. Now it's no longer a matter of waiting, it's a matter of surviving. "BJ! Go get the money!" He said as he tore off his mask and wiped off the blood. It was the man from earlier, the one who was eyeing me down.

"Sure thing, Boss." One of the men moved over to the counter and start collecting from the mess. Many of the bills were stained red with blood.

"I don't want any funny business from any of you, got it? If you don't behave, I'll make an example out of the pretty ones first." the boss shouted as he freely began walking about, shaking his gun at us, showing his undisputed dominance over us to keep us quiet. He stopped when he reached us, "Speaking of which, hehe."

"Don't you lay a finger on her." Toriel held me closer, her eyes blazing with fury. The boss gave one huff before smacking her upside the head with the butt of his gun. The blow loosened her grip enough for him to drag me away and put me in a headlock. All I felt was a complete sense of powerlessness as I couldn't even lift a finger to stop any of this as my own anxiety rendered me completely paralyzed with fear.

"Heh. You monsters are all the same, talking like you own the place and then collapsing at the first sign of trouble. No wonder you guys lost the war." He began to grope me with one hand while pointing his gun at Toriel. I never felt so disgusted in my life. "Now I wonder what it feels like down here?" His hand now was drifting down past my waist. I stifled a squeak as I felt his cold touch reach it's mark and begin to massage the spot. In a split second, I saw Toriel's expression shift from angry to an expression of pure, unadulterated fury.

"YOU GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY CHILD!" The air around Toriel ignited spontaneously as several fireballs formed around her. The boss was caught off guard just enough for me to squirm free and move out of her firing range.

Toriel wasted no time sending those fireballs flying at him in such magnitude and power that it literally became an unavoidable wall of fire. The boss didn't stand a chance as he briefly screamed before collapsing onto the ground unmoving. The flames on his body somehow leaving no trace on him of ever being there as they simmered out.

"Oh shi-, Boss!" One of the men rushed over and turned him over. The boss only limply rolled forward, his lifeless eyes staring back. "Boss. No..." The thug shifted his gaze turned to Toriel, his eyes full of rage like hers. Without hesitation, he pulled out his gun and pointed it at Toriel.

"No!" I shouted, but it was too late. The thug fired three shots at Toriel. Almost like it was slow motion, I could see where each one hit. One hit her shoulder, another her leg, and the last hit her in the side. Sprays of a light gray and red burst out where each bullet landed. She gasped in pain and fell to her knees, still alive but shaking in pain and unable to move.

"Hmph." The thug walked over to Toriel and put his gun against her forehead, causing her to wince from the heat of the muzzle. She tried her best to stare back at him with all the fury she could muster, but it didn't even phase the man. "Go to hell, monster." he said as he pulled back the hammer.

Time seemed to slow down. The seconds seemed to crawl by like years and everything started to come into a sharper perspective. I could see the tiny bits of wear on the thug's jacket to the small embroidery on Toriel's dress. She looked like she was in so much pain. I wanted to save her. I wanted to stop all of this from happening. To just go home and leave this place behind with her. To live with her and be together, like a family.

 _ **Fight... back...**_ What was this feeling boiling inside of me? It seemed so... familiar. _**Fight back**_ _._ There it is again. It was there when the incident happened.It was the feeling that saved me. No, that wasn't it. _**Fight Back**_ _._ It was the power that lain dormant within me. The one that came to my aid when I needed it the most. It was telling me something. Something important. _**Fight back!**_ It was burning me. Trying to break free from within my soul. Telling me to give in. _**Fight back!**_ No, not give in. To become determined. Determined enough to unleash this power.

To save her from this nightmare. No matter the cost.

 _ **Don't just stand there! FIGHT BACK!**_

"Goodnight." The thug tried to pull back the trigger, but nothing happened. "What the-?" The thug kept trying to fire, but it refused. The trigger was stuck. He turned it to check the safety, completely oblivious to me when I began to levitate off the ground.

"Why is this thing glowing green?" I looked at my hands to see that they were glowing too. My entire body was glowing with some type of energy from within me. But I didn't care, I knew what I had to do. I lifted one of my hands towards him, causing him to glow green as well. In an instant, he was blown towards the counter at incredible speeds. He hit it with a loud crack and flipped upside down, then collided face-first with a pillar with a loud crunch. I let him go from my control and he slid down to the ground, unmoving.

"Holy-. Waste her!" The other two thugs by the windows turned at the noise and took aim with their guns, but I didn't care. They couldn't harm me. I help up my hand up and created a green barrier around me. The two unload their clips bullet by bullet, but not one could not reach past my energy barrier. They only just flattened against it like pieces of crushed candy. By the time they realized this, it was too late. Now completely defenseless against me, their faces turned into complete looks of terror.

"This is for harming me and my family." I put my hand down, dropping the barrier, and telekinetically launched both of them out past the windows they were watching through. I could audibly hear one of them hit against something metal, he must have hit a car or something.

"Es..pe..." I heard something collapse behind me. I turned to see Toriel barely conscious on the ground.

"Toriel!" I dropped to the ground rushed over to her. She didn't look like she was bleeding out but I had no way to tell for sure. I can just feel that she was fading fast. "Toriel! Don't leave me! Please!" She turned weakly, a smile forming on her face. "No, no, please don't..." I could feel my tears streaming down my own face.

"Shh, it's ok." Toriel said weakly as she took my hand in hers. "Just let your magic flow."

I didn't know what she meant by magic, but regardless I let my power flow into her, desperately hoping that same power wouldn't accidentally crush her too. Almost immediately I could feel the energy beginning to heal the bullet wounds and restore her quickly failing health. Her breathing stabilized and her face began to soften as the pain dissipated and she slowly drifted off to sleep. I could feel through my energy that she will survive to see tomorrow. "Thank God..." I hugged her, just grateful that she will pull through this.

"Put your hands up in the air! Now!" I turned around to see three police officers pointing their guns at me.

"Wha-?" My head was left in a muddle of confusion until I saw what was going on beyond them outside. One of the thugs was flattened against a car, a police car to be precise, and the other left a bloody streak across the road for all to see. The police were pointing their guns at me because they thought I was the one robbing the bank instead of them.

"No..." I felt my power fade quickly as it was replaced by the cold, numb shock of dread. "Oh God, what have I done..."


End file.
